Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Preslee Jo is here! We are so extremely blessed to have her in our family. She is absolutely wonderful.
Getting her here was a little bit of a challenge. I'm going to write her birth story as detailed as possible so I won't forget it. So this might be a really long blog post. But don't worry, I have lots of pictures of a really cute baby. :)
On Saturday, April 7th, I was pretty bummed that I was still not having any contractions or dilated at all. I was 2 days away from my due date. I decided to go shopping for a few last minute things and then go for a walk. It was a really nice day outside, so we were anxious to get out. I went to WalMart and got some groceries and came back to take a nap with Dave before we went for a walk. I woke up around 2:00 pm and had to pee really bad. So I got off the couch and started up the stairs. About half way up, I was like "Holy crap I'm not going to make it!" so I ran the last few steps and got to the bathroom. I saw that I hadn't made it, though. So I took off my pants and garments and started to go into the bedroom to change. But when I stood up, I started leaking again! I jumped in the tub and stood there for a while, leaking fluid. I yelled down to Dave "Is the couch wet?" He said it wasn't and asked what was wrong. I said "I think my water broke!" He ran up the stairs and we stood there for a while as I leaked, just looking at each other. Dave then called the hospital and told them what happened and they said that it sounded like my water had broke and it was time to head in to the hospital! Dave rushed around the house trying to get everything packed and I stood in the tub because every time I moved, I had a gush of fluid. When we were all packed, I hurried and put two pads on and some pajama pants. When we walked out the door, we stopped and kissed. We were not coming back through that door until we had a baby. We were so excited!

Last Pregnancy picture

Warming up my arms with hot towels so the IV will go in better.

We got to the hospital at 3:30. They got me changed and into bed and had to mop the floor behind me. I was Group B Strep positive, so they needed to start me on an IV as soon as possible. We got the baby on the monitor and she looked great. It also showed that I was contracting every 3-5 minutes. We called our Elders Quorum president and he came and helped Dave give me a blessing. Dave blessed that everything would work out and the baby would be healthy. I was so grateful that my husband could give me a blessing.
After the blessing, the nurse tried to get an IV into my left hand, but it didn't work. She said that my vein retracted. So she got another nurse to try. That nurse stuck me two more times in both arms and none of them worked. One of the veins even blew and it got really swollen and I got a nice bruise from it. They called in an ER nurse to try to get the IV in. She tried three times in different places and even tried to numb the nerves so the vein wouldn't retract or blow or collapse. It didn't work. So they finally called in Charles. He had to place a blood pressure cuff on me and tighten it until my entire arm was white. It hurt like crazy but they finally got the IV in me after 7 sticks at 5:00 pm.

All of my IV pokes

At 9:00 pm they started Pitocin because I was still only a finger tip dilated and not contracting hard. I wanted to try to labor without an epidural as long as possible so I could walk around and try to get more dilated. At 11:00 pm after laboring with Pitocin I was 1.5 cm dilated. I labored in the tub for a long time and that felt petty good. I had to give myself pep talks through each contraction. They were coming every 1.5 to 2 minutes and lasting about 2 minutes long. I started contracting in groups (the nurse called it coupling) where I would contract for 2 minutes, have a 30 second break, then contract for another minute before having a two minute break. The nurse was worried that it was too intense for the baby, but she was still looking pretty good. They upped the pitocin again to see if we could get the two contractions into one big one. That got too intense for me to be in the tub, so I got out and walked, rocked, tried the birthing ball, got on all fours... anything, trying to get more dilated. By 3:00 am I was really starting to hurt and was so tense they couldn't even check to see if I was dilating more. So the nurse recommended an epidural so she could see what was happening.

My IV stand and all of my fluid and medicine stuff. I had like, 6 bags on there at one time. You can tell that I'm super excited and maybe hurting a little from contractions at this point.

I laid down in bed waiting for the anesthesiologist and those were the worst contractions of all. I made tight fists and hit Dave's hand through them. When I felt a contraction coming, I started taking big huge breaths, trying to stay on top of them. They were so intense. I felt like if Dave wasn't there, I would have gone inside myself and got lost. I'm so glad he was there to anchor me to reality, talk to me, tell me they would be there soon with the epidural, tell me I was doing a great job... He was absolutely wonderful.
The anesthesiologist got there and started the process of giving me an epidural. He had me lean forward and pressed so hard on my back that I couldn't sit still. He then numbed me and started putting in the epidural. Because my contractions were coming so hard and so fast, it took a long time for him to get it in. Once he got it in, he wanted to make sure he got it in the middle. So he kept asking me where I felt the twinges. They were all on the right side. Then all of a sudden, I felt an electric like shock run through my right leg. It made me jump and squirm to the side. He asked what I felt and I told him. He fixed it and then asked where I felt the twinges. They were right in the middle. When he said we were done, he asked where I felt numb. I told him my feet and legs were tingly. He started to look concerned and started tapping me. Is this numb? How about here? Within about a minute after the epidural was in place, I was completely numb up to my chest. I couldn't feel a thing. He hurried and took the catheter out so I wouldn't get any more medicine and said that he got it into the spinal place instead of the epidural place. I was numb all the way up to my armpits and even my neck and chin felt tingly. He said that it might be a good thing and I might start dilating now.

My parents were able to pack up and drive up and they got there right after I got the accidental spinal. I was in a happy place after all the pressure and pain of the contractions. We chatted for a little while and we updated them on what had happened so far. But then some scary things started happening. They really increased the pitocin after I was numb so they could get more contractions. At 4:00 am, the baby's heart rate and my blood pressure dropped. They tried turning me on my sides, but it wouldn't come back up. So they gave me oxygen and a medicine to get my blood pressure up and the baby's heart rate up. They also stopped the pitocin. When the baby was stabilized, they slowly started pitocin again around 4:45. Her heart rate dropped again. They stopped everything again and decided to check me, I was still only at 2 cm dilated. They decided to call the doctor and ask what to do because labor just wasn't working for me. I told my parents to go get a hotel room because it looked like the baby was going to be a while.

At 6:00 am the doctor came in and said it was time for a c-section. The baby wasn't handling the pitocin anymore, my blood pressure was low, I wasn't dilating any more, labor just wasn't working. The doctor said that the baby might be too big to fit down the birth canal, or she might be coming down crooked. But for whatever reason, labor just wasn't working. Dave and I prayed about it and felt at peace with getting a c-section. I'm so glad that he was with me to help me make this decision. We felt that it was the right thing for the health of our baby. I was pretty upset about it because it was an absolute worst case scenario for me, but after I felt at peace with it, I was sure that's what needed to happen for the baby. We called and told my parents what was happening and they said they would be right over.

Well, for most people, this would kinda be the end of the story, they would get a c-section, have the baby, go to recovery, everything is great! Right? Haha... wrong.

They prepped me for surgery and I had a really nice nurse come tell me everything that was happening. He was really great and joked around with me and really helped me calm down. By this time, I was almost back to partial feeling in my legs. They were still tingly, but I could move them on my own. Dave was able to put on scrubs and he had to wait for me outside while they got me prepped. They wheeled me into the OR and I was able to see my mom and dad before I went in. I waved at them. We got into the OR and I crawled onto the surgery table and was so very nervous. Jesse, the nice nurse, just kept telling me everything that was going on and what they were doing. The anesthesiologist came back in to give me another spinal and gave me a half dose because I responded so strongly with the regular dose and they wanted me to be able to breathe during the surgery. I was very appreciative. Jesse let me lean on him and tell him everything I felt. I can't even describe how thankful I was for him since Dave couldn't be with me at that time. When I was the right amount of numbness, they started prepping me.

Everything was all ready and the doctor said he was ready to start. Dave came in and sat right by me and then the doctor said in about 10 minutes we would have a baby! All of the sudden, I felt very nauseous. I told the anesthesiologist that I thought I was going to throw up and he said that he would fix it. He started putting something in my IV, but low and behold, my IV vein blew. The doctor, standing there ready to cut, had to wait while they found another vein to put my IV in. They were scrambling. The first vein they tried collapsed. I have an enormous bruise from it on the inside of my left arm. They tried one more time, this whole time I was panting, trying to swallow and keep from throwing up. The anesthesiologist ran and got me this little pad of gauze and put it under my oxygen mask on my nose. Because I had been crying, I couldn't breathe through my nose very well, but he told me to take deep breaths. I did and within three breaths my nausea was gone. They finally got an IV in again and they were able to give me some medicine. Within minutes, the doctor said "Here she comes!" and we heard a squeaky cry! At 7:28 in the morning on April 8th, 2012 our little girl was born. She weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 18 inches long. The doctor held her over the curtain for a second and, I'm not gonna lie, all I saw was a little blue blob. But I was crying anyways. They told Dave to come and cut the cord and help them wipe her off and wrap her up. Dave yelled over to me "She has hair! It might be red!" I just laughed and kept crying. Soon, Dave brought her over to me. She was so calm, just looking around very bright eyed. Everyone kept saying she was an absolutely beautiful baby. One of the nurses said she couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Dave was able to hold her by me for quite a few minutes and then they said she had to go get warmed up and bathed.

Dave giving Preslee her first bath

All clean and tuckered out

The next hour was the longest hour of my life. Dave went with the baby and I had to lay there and keep getting stitched up. I was crying and crying. I kept asking the anesthesiologist to tell me what was happening. He said "Do you want me to really tell you or just tell you everything is going great?" I said really tell me what was happening. So he explained that there were 7 layers that had to be stitched up. Right then, the doctor was putting the bladder back by the uterus. The anesthesiologist was great about telling me what was going on periodically when I asked him for info. Jesse, the nurse, was also great about joking around, keeping me positive. After they were done, they switched me to a huge recovery bed and wheeled me into a recovery room.

Here, the nurse was making sure everything was ok before I could go in and see my baby. They wanted me to be able to wiggle my toes before going in. As soon as they told me that, I started trying my hardest to wiggle around. When the anesthesiologist was updating the recovery nurse about how the surgery went, I kept interrupting them "Look! Are my knees moving? I can move my legs!" The anesthesiologist was pretty impressed. He was congratulating himself on good anesthesia. They kept talking and I kept saying "I'm wiggling my toes! Can I go now?" The nurse was super sick of me after just 20 minutes of being in the recovery room. She called down to the birthplace and asked if I could come down. She said "I think this is a record! She's only been here for 20 minutes and she can move her toes!" They said I could come down in 10 minutes after they got the room ready. I watched the nurse like a hawk and kept asking when I could go. I might have even told her I could feel one of her pokes when I really couldn't. I was just so excited to see my baby!
When they wheeled me into my room, I saw my baby in the little bassinet and my parents and Dave in the room. My new nurse, Charles, asked my parents to leave so I could breast feed and bond with the baby a little. He helped me get skin to skin with her and helped me figure out a good latch for her. She is a rock star breast feeder. The nurses called her the barracuda baby. This was such a special moment for me and Dave to be with her and just be a family. Dave asked me what I wanted to name her. We both thought that Preslee was the best name for her. So Preslee Jo Waddoups it is!

The reason I wasn't dilating and we had to have a c-section was because Preslee was crooked. Instead of coming face down, she was sideways. She had a bump on her head from the pressure of the contractions but it went away pretty quickly. We stayed in the hospital until Wednesday morning because the pediatrician wanted to make sure her jaundice levels were ok. Even though I had a worst-case-scenario birth story, I have come away from the experience with a positive mindset. The nurses and staff at the hospital were absolutely fantastic. Everyone was so super nice and made our stay at the hospital so very comfortable. I can't even explain how awesome everyone there was. I am so thankful for them and all their help.

A little bit jaundice

My dad and Miranda were able to stay for a day, but then they had to go home. My mom was able to stay for a whole week! It was absolutely amazing to have my mom here. She was the biggest help ever! I don't think I could have got through this first week without her. I already miss her a ton and she just left yesterday! Words can't express how wonderful she is.

I also couldn't do this without my awesome husband. He has been fantastic and I fall more and more in love with him every day I watch him be a daddy to our little Preslee. He is so amazing with her. We love her so much and are so grateful for her!

Picture overload:

New mommy and new baby

Her cute bow!

First family picture. We're a little tired.

She has alot of hair!

Fuzzy hair

Dave being a most excellent daddy.

Funny Faces!

All ready to go home!

These are pictures from the first week at home.
Mommy giving Preslee her first bath at home. She didn't like it very well.

Preslee compared to Dave's arm. She's pretty little

In her bouncer. She likes it.

There's our cute girl! My incision is healing well and everything is going great at home! We might be a little tired. This girl eats like a champ but only stays asleep for about 2 hours. But we are loving it!